1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of improving heat transfer resistance of a paneling system in which insulation material is confined between construction members, and more particularly but not by way of limitation, to a paneling system providing improved insulating qualities to pre-engineered buildings and the like.
2. Discussion
The pre-engineered building industry is experiencing an increasingly greater share of the construction industry budget throughout the world. The established method of erecting the roof or wall of a pre-engineered building is to erect the primary structural members; attach the secondary structural members to the primary structural members; secure the appropriate bracing members; roll blanket-type insulation across the secondary structural members; dispose panel members over the insulation; and connect the panel members and the secondary structural members together by fasteners that penetrate the insulation. The securement of panel members to the secondary structure members is performed by a workman who stands on top of one of the panel members and inserts fasteners through the panel member to attach it to the underlying secondary structural members.
In my patent entitled SUPPORT SPACER APPARATUS, U.S. Pat. No. 4,329,823, filed Nov. 13, 1979, and assigned Ser. No. 093,173, I discussed problems that occur in the pre-engineered building industry in the construction of such buildings in the above stated manner. That is, as the fasteners are installed through panel members, the underlying insulation is compressed between the panel members and the secondary structural members, resulting in undesirable reduction in thermal effectiveness of the insulation. Since the primary purpose of the fasteners is to secure the panel members to the secondary structural members and to transfer stress from the panel members, movement of the panel members relative to the secondary structural members during the life of the building is detrimental thereto because of the looseness which occurs around the fasteners, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to maintain watertightness at the points where the fasteners penetrate the panel members.
Taylor, U.S. Pat. No. 3,394,516, taught the use of spacers between the panel members and the secondary structural members to prevent panel members from being pulled so close to the secondary structural members as to crush the insulation. The Taylor spacer had a plurality of pointed legs that served to penetrate the insulation, and sheet metal screws were used to secure the panel members to the secondary structural members through the spacer. However, while the Taylor spacer substantially reduced the amount of compressive reduction of insulation, the pointed legs of the Taylor spacer afforded a heat conducting bridge between the secondary structural members and the panel members. Further the Taylor spacer, which was independent of the fasteners, permitted movement of the overlying panel members, and this movement could eventually lead to deterioration of the kind mentioned above. Other difficulties with the Taylor spacer are discussed in my previously mentioned patent.
Another prior art teaching is the sandwich panel of which there are numerous types; for example, the insulated wall structure of Manias, U.S. Pat. No. 3,474,583, features an inner metal sheath and an outer metal sheath interconnected by spacer members and lined with insulating material. Numerous designs of such double sheath structures are offered in the prior art with the differences being in the materials used and the means employed to physically connect the sheaths while thermally isolating them. While these sandwich panels have met with a measure of success, they have not had universal acceptance due to their excessive cost and relative complex installation requirements. Additionally, sandwich panels are used only for new construction, with little or no value in retrofit construction applications.
A novel support spacer apparatus is taught in my above-mentioned patent which provides a system in which stress imparted to the exterior panel members is transferred through the underlying compressible insulation material without affecting the thermal characteristics of the compressible material, and in which the integrity of the building envelope structure is substantially unaffected from such transfer of stress. The support spacer apparatus taught in my Patent comprised a spacer member having a support surface and a plurality of fastener apertures extending therethrough; a plurality of fasteners assemblies, each such fastener assembly comprising a fastener member having a first end and a second end, the fastener member extendable through one of the fastener apertures and the second end attachable to an underlying secondary structural member by applying energy to the first end of the fastener member, with the dimension of the fastener member being determined so that the first end is caused to exert a restraining force against the support surface of the spacer member in an attached position of the spacer member with the underlying secondary structural member.